Tissue engineering is an approach for regeneration, replacement, and improvement of the functions of damaged tissues by manipulating materials according to the specific structure or function of the desired tissues. Porous and biodegradable polymer scaffolds, e.g., three dimensionally interconnected scaffolds, are utilized as a structural supporting matrix or as a cell adhesive substrate for cell-based tissue engineering. A highly open porous structure with interconnected pores is required to achieve sufficient cell seeding and migration within the scaffold, as well as to facilitate mass transfer of nutrients, oxygen, and metabolite waste for sequential proliferation and differentiation of large quantity of cells. Current approaches to generate porous networks in polymer scaffolds include gas foaming, salt leaching, and freeze drying; however, the limitations of those processes include irregular pore sizes, shapes, and structures, as well as limited interconnectivity. As such, there is a pressing need in the art to develop improved structured polymer scaffolds with interconnected pores.